The age of innocence - Edith Wharton

Newland Archer - high-flying lawyer and heir of one of New York City's most esteemed families - is thrilled when May Welland agrees to marry him. May is Newland's ideal woman: a beautiful, sweet-natured debutante with whom he can picture the perfect married life.

But Newland's dreams of marital bliss become unsettled by the arrival of May's cousin, Ellen Olenska. Scandal and impropriety surround Ellen, but Newland finds himself inexplicably drawn to her in spite of himself and all he stands for...